The former Marussia team, which looked set to return to the grid as Manor GP, now looks unlikely to do so following a vote on whether they could continue to use their 2014 chassis.
Meanwhile, rival outfits are set to pocket millions in extra income for blocking the move which could have seen hundreds re-employed at the team which would have boosted the grid to 20 cars.
Whilst unconfirmed, it’s believed Force India, Sauber, Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso chose not to allow Manor to use their 2014 chassis to continue racing this season following a last-minute deal with new investors.
“They wanted to come in with last year’s car and it didn’t get accepted,” Bernie Ecclestone told the Independent.
“It needed all the teams to agree and there were three or four of them that didn’t agree.”
He also confirmed that the decision was likely motivated by money, as the £34 million in prize money set aside for Marussia would now be redistributed amongst the nine teams, whilst they would also earn additional money from the 2015 season as a result of a smaller grid.
“The money that they should have got gets distributed amongst the teams that are racing. That’s a pretty good reason [to vote no] I suppose,” he confirmed.
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